Imagine you have a list of students whose grades you want to
organize to be able to easily view and analyze them. When creating the list, you
can start with their names. Here is an example:

First Name

Last Name

Roland

Becker

Chrissy

Groans

Robert

Farell

Alexa

Schwitts

Because these are students, you may also add
their courses to the list where you would enter their grades. Here is an example:

First Name

Last Name

English

History

Geography

Math

Chemistry

Physics

1.

Roland

Becker

10.50

12.00

12.00

16.50

16.75

14.00

2.

Chrissy

Groans

12.00

14.50

14.00

12.75

12.00

10.50

3.

Robert

Farell

16.00

15.50

16.50

14.50

14.00

15.50

4.

Alexa

Schwitts

15.50

14.00

16.00

16.50

13.50

14.25

This type of list is referred to as a sheet or a
spreadsheet. To organize its information, this type of list uses vertical
arrangements as categories of information. In this case, the categories are First Name,
Last Name, English, History, Geography, Math, Chemistry, and Physics. On a
spreadsheet, each category arranged vertically is called a column. As you can
see from the above list and as we will learn in the next section, each column
has a name and borders so it can be identified from the other columns.

Practical Learning: Introducing
Columns

Open the RTHS1 file

Identifying a Column

To make it easy to create a type of list like the above,
Microsoft Excel provides a ready-made arrangement of columns. To easily
identify each category of the list, a column is created as a vertical object. On
top of each column, there is a (blue) bar called the column header. As
seen in the previous lesson, the columns are organized as a row of (blue) bars:

To distinguish each column, it has a name. The name of a
column displays in the column header. The name uses one, two, or three letters. The most left
column is called, and is labeled, A. The second has a
label of B, and so on.

When you start a document in
Microsoft Excel, the application makes all these columns available. You can use
all of them or just a few, but they are always available.

Among the various ways you can use a column, we will see in
various sections that you can click it or use the keyboard to get to a column.
You can also right-click a column. When you do, an expanded menu would appear:

Practical Learning: Checking Columns

To review the columns, click and hold the mouse on the right
arrow button of the horizontal scroll bar for a few minutes

Release the mouse and press Ctrl + Home

Columns Selections

At times you will almost want to alter the display of a
column or various columns. You have to select that column or the group of
columns first. Another reason you may need to select a column or a group
of columns is because you would need to take some action on it. Some of these
issues will be addressed soon, some others will be reviewed as we move on.

You can select a column or a group of columns using
the mouse, the keyboard, or a combination of both:

To select a column using the mouse, position the mouse on the column
header:

and click (with the left mouse button) a column header; it would get selected
and all small boxes under it

To select a column using the keyboard, click
anything under it, then press and hold Ctrl. While Ctrl is down, press the
Space bar and release Ctrl.

You can also select more
than one column. Selecting columns in a range consists of selecting
adjacent columns. To perform this type of selection, you can use either the
mouse or a combination of the mouse and the keyboard:

To select columns in
a range using the mouse, click one column header and hold the mouse down. Then drag in the
direction of the range

To select a range of columns using the mouse and the keyword, click
one column at one end of the desired range. Press and hold Shift. Then
click the column at the other end, and release the mouse.

Random
selection consists of selecting columns that are not adjacent. For
example, this allows you to select columns B, D, and H. To do this, click
one column header, press and hold Ctrl. Then click each desired column
header. When you have selected the desired columns, release the
mouse.

Practical Learning: Selecting Columns

To select a column, click the column header D

To select more than one column, click column header C and hold the mouse down. While the mouse is still down, move it right until column F is selected, then release the
mouse

To select columns in another range, click column header B

Press and hold Shift, then click column header E

Release Shift

To select columns at random, click column header H

Press and hold Ctrl

Click column headers B, E, and C

Release Ctrl

Click any box under column header G

To select a column with the keyboard, for example column G, press Ctrl +
Space

Press Ctrl + Home

Adding or Deleting Columns

Inserting a New Column

As mentioned already, Microsoft Excel has columns named from
A to XFD with a maximum of 16384. Microsoft Excel allows you to add a column.
Actually, you can insert a column on the left side of an existing column. When
you do, Microsoft Excel internally removes the very last column to keep the
count to 16384.

To add a new column:

Right-click the column header of the column that will be on the right side
of the new column you want to create, and click Insert

Click the column header or any box under it. On the Ribbon, click
Home. In the Cells section, click the arrow under Insert and click Insert Sheet Columns

To add more than one column, first select the columns,
whether in a range or randomly. Then:

Right-click one of the columns (whether one of the column headers or a box
of one of the selected columns) that will be on the right side of the new
columns you want to create, and click Insert

(After selecting the columns,) On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Cells
section, click the arrow button Insert and click Insert Sheet Columns

If you select columns randomly (non-adjacent), a new column
would be created on the left side of each of the selected columns.

To undo any of these actions:

On the Quick Access toolbar, click the Undo button

Press Ctrl + Z

Practical Learning: Adding Columns

Right-click Column Header E and click Insert

Click Column Header C

On the Ribbon, click Home if necessary.
In the Cells section, click the arrow button under Insert and click Insert Sheet Columns

Press Ctrl + Home

Save the document

Removing a Column

If you find out that you have a column you do not want, you
can remove it. To remove a column:

Right-click the column header and click Delete

Click the column header or any box under it. On the Ribbon, click
Home. In the Cells section, click Delete and click Delete Sheet Columns

To delete more than one column, first select the columns,
whether in a range or randomly. Then:

Right-click one of the columns (whether one of the column headers or a box
of one of the selected columns) and click Delete

(After selecting the columns,) On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Cells
section, click Delete and click Delete Sheet Columns

If no box under the column header has anything, you would
not receive a warning and the column would simply be removed. If at least one of
the boxes under the column header has a value, you may receive a warning to
indicate whether you want to continue with the operation or not.

To undo any of these actions:

On the Quick Access toolbar, click the Undo button

Press Ctrl + Z

Practical Learning: Deleting Columns

Right-click Column Header C and click Delete

Press Ctrl + Home

The Width of Columns

Introduction

To display the information under it, a column uses a
measure from its left border to its right border. This measure is referred
to as its width. By default, when Microsoft Excel comes up, all columns
use the same width. You are allowed to change the width of one column or a
group of columns.

There are various techniques you can use to change the
width of a column. You can manually resize a column or a group of columns,
or you can use a dialog box to exercise more control.

Manually Resizing the Columns

To manually resize a column, position the mouse on the
short line that separates a column header from its right neighbor. Here is
an example:

Click, then drag left or right until the small box displays the width you desire, then release the mouse.

You can also resize a group of columns. First, select the columns you want to work on.
Then position the mouse on the column header border of one of the selected
columns. Click and drag left or right in the direction of your choice until
you get the desired with. Then release the mouse.

To undo this action:

On the Quick Access toolbar, click the Undo button

Press Ctrl + Z

Practical Learning: Controlling
the Widths of Columns

Position the mouse between columns H and I until the mouse turns into a short line with double horizontal arrows

Then double-click. That resizes column H

Position the mouse on the separator of column headers B and C, then click and drag in the
right direction until the small box displays Width: 10.00

Release the
mouse

In the same way, position the mouse on the separator of column headers
C and D, then click and drag in the
right direction until the small box displays Width: 10.00

Press Ctrl + Home

To save the document, press Ctrl + S

Automatically Resizing the Columns

If one of the boxes under a column header displays the width
you want, you can resize the column to the content of that box. To do this,
click the box that has the desired width. Then:

Double-click the short line that separates the column header from the column on its right (if you are on the most right column, that will be the line that serves as the column's right
border)

On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Cells section, click Format and click
AutoFit Column Width

In the same way, to set the widths of columns based on some
boxes under their columns headers, select those boxes (in Lesson 4, we will
learn how to select the boxes). Then:

Double-click the short line on one side of the column headers

On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Cells section, click Format and click
AutoFit Column Width

To undo any of these actions:

On the Quick Access toolbar, click the Undo button

Press Ctrl + Z

Practical Learning:
Automatically Resizing the Columns

Randomly select Columns D, F, G, and I

On the Ribbon, click Home if necessary.
In the Cells section, click the Format button, and click AutoFit Column Width

Press Ctrl + Home

Save the document

Setting the Width Value of Columns

You can use a dialog box to set exactly the desired width of
a column or a group of columns. To specify the width of a column:

Right-click the column header and click Column Width...

Click a column header or any box under it. Then, on the Ribbon, click
Home. In the Cells section, click Format and click Column Width...

To specify the same width for many columns:

Select a range of columns. Right-click one of the columns (right-click
either one of the column headers or inside the selection) and click Column
Width...

Randomly select a group of (non-adjacent) columns. Right-click one of the
column headers and click Column Width...

Select the columns, whether in a range or randomly (non-adjacent). On the
Ribbon, click Home. In the Cells section, click Format and click Column
Width...

Any of these actions would
open the Column Width dialog box. From there, accept or enter the desired value
and click OK

To undo any of these actions:

On the Quick Access toolbar, click the Undo button

Press Ctrl + Z

Practical Learning:
Setting the Width of Columns

Right-click Column Header J and click Column Width...

Type 6.50 and press Enter

Press Ctrl + Home

Columns and Their Content

Introduction

You may have noticed that, in the documents we have used so
far, there are some values under some column headers. Because a column is
primarily a group of values, you can copy its values to the clipboard and put
them in another column.

Moving Columns

In our introduction, we saw that columns assume some default
positions when Microsoft Excel starts. On a normal computer spreadsheet, you can
move a column from its current position to another.

To move a column, first click its column header to select
it. Position the mouse on one of the vertical lines of the selected column:

Click and hold your mouse down. Drag left or right. Two
vertical lines would guide you. When you get the column to the desired location,
release the mouse.

When you move a column, its boxes move but it assumes the
lettered name of the new location so the names would still follow the alphabetic
sequence.

To move a group of columns, select them. Position the mouse
on one of the vertical lines of the selection:

Click and hold your mouse down. Drag left or right. Vertical lines would guide you. When you get the columns to the desired
location, release the mouse. When you move the columns, their boxes move but
they assume the lettered name of the new location with the appropriate
alphabetic sequence.

Copying and Pasting Columns

As mentioned already, when moving one or more columns, their
location
changes. In some cases, you may not want to move the column(s) but
only its(their) content. To support this, the operating system provides the
clipboard and Microsoft Excel has a high level of support for it. In other
words, you can copy the contents of column(s) to the clipboard and paste it(them)
to other column(s).

To copy the contents of a column to the clipboard:

Right-click the column header and click Copy

Click the column header. On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Clipboard
section, click Copy

After copying a column to the clipboard, all of its values
are made available. To put those values on another column:

Right-click the target column header and click Paste

Click the column header. On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Clipboard
section, click Paste

Cutting the Contents of Columns

As seen already, if you move one or more columns, they go
with their contents. If you copy the contents of columns, you would have
duplicate (contents) of columns. As an alternative, you can move only the values
of columns, not the columns themselves. The Microsoft Windows operating system
supports this operation through cutting to the clipboard.

To temporarily move the contents of a column to the clipboard
to wait to be pasted:

Right-click the column header and click Cut

Click the column header. On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Clipboard
section, click Cut

After cutting a column to the clipboard, if you do not want
to paste it anywhere, you can press Esc. If you want to paste it to another
column:

Right-click the target column header and click Paste

Click the column header. On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Clipboard
section, click Paste

To temporarily move the contents of many columns to the
clipboard to wait to be pasted, select the columns. Then:

Right-click either one of the column headers or inside the selection, and
click Cut

On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Clipboard section, click Cut

If you want to paste the values to another group of columns:

Right-click a target column header and click Paste

Click a column header. On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Clipboard
section, click Paste

When you paste, the values of the boxes under the original
columns would be emptied.

Hiding, Freezing, and Splitting Columns

Hiding and Revealing Columns

When working on a list, you donít always need all columns
displaying all the time.
You can hide a column whose presence is not required at a particular time. In Microsoft Excel, you can hide
one or more columns.

To hide one column:

Right-click the column and click Hide

Click the column header. On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Cells section,
click Format, position the mouse on Hide & Unhide, and click Hide Columns

When a column has been hidden, its letter disappears
from the sequence and the line between the previous neighbors is thicker than the
other dividing lines:

To hide many columns, select the columns. Then:

Right-click one of the column headers or inside the selection and click
Hide

On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Cells section, click Format, position
the mouse on Hide & Unhide, and click Hide Columns

To reveal the hidden columns:

Right-click any column header and click Unhide

On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Cells section, click Format, position the mouse
on Hide & Unhide, and click Unhide Columns

Practical Learning:
Hiding a Column

Right-click Column E and click Hide

Save the document

Freezing One or More Columns

If you have a list wider than the Microsoft Excel area
can show, you can scroll to the right to see hidden columns. While you are
scrolling to the right, some columns would be disappearing from the left
section of the Microsoft Excel interface. If you want, you can freeze a
column so that, when you scroll to the right, a column or
some columns would be fixed and would not move. Also, the column(s) from
the left of the frozen column would not move either.

To freeze a column, click the column header of the
column that will lead the moving columns. On the Ribbon, click View. In
the Window section, click Freeze Panes, and click Freeze Panes.

Practical Learning:
Freezing a Column

Open the RTHS2 file

Click Column Header E

On the Ribbon, click View

In the Window section, click Freeze Panes

Press Ctrl + Home

Scroll to the right. Notice that Column D and its left columns are not
moving

In the Window section of the Ribbon, click Freeze Panes and click Unfreeze
Panes

Splitting the Columns

An alternative to freezing is to split the group of columns
into two sections. Just as done for the freezing, you can choose a column to
use as reference and scroll the columns from its side. To split the group of
columns in two, click a column header. On the ribbon, click View. In the Window
section, click Split. This would display a bar:

The similarities between the freezing and splitting
are as follows:

The columns are divided in two groups

The user can scroll the columns from the right side of the divider

The differences between the freezing and splitting are
as follows:

If you freeze a column, you can scroll the columns on the right side of
the frozen line but you cannot scroll the columns from the left side of the
frozen line. If you split the columns, you can scroll the columns from
either the left or the right side of the splitting bar

If you freeze a column, you cannot move the freezing line to another
column (you would have to unfreeze the column, then re-freeze). If you split
the columns, you can move the splitting bar to the left or the right

If you freeze a column, to remove the frozen line, you use the Ribbon. If
you split the columns, to remove the splitting line, you can double-click it
or, in the Window section of the View tab of the Ribbon, you can click the
Split button